From DE 102 45 983 A1, a ball and socket joint is known, comprising a housing, two bearing shell elements disposed in the housing, a joint body that has a pin and a joint ball, the joint ball sitting between the two bearing shell elements, and a housing bottom, which is disposed on the side of the housing facing away from the pin. An adjustable clamping device is disposed between a first of the two bearing shell elements and the housing bottom. The pre-load with which the joint body is clamped between the bearing shell elements can be changed by means of the clamping device. In order to change the mechanical pre-load, the clamping device can have piezoelectric or hydraulic elements, such as a hydraulic piston.
If the pre-load is increased by means of the clamping device, gaps leading to an impermissibly high edge compression can occur at the contact surfaces between the bearing shell elements and the joint ball.